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Everyday life improvements since the 90s (2022)

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Re: Everyday life improvements since the 90s (2022)

#41

Post by ryandrake »

varjag wrote: post #5

Some of the improvements on the list are non-issues best described as cultural differences. Consider: …not making a dozen phone calls playing Phone Tag, to set up something as simple as a play date Well this is why hardly anyone was bothering with setting up play dates back in the day† and were letting kids roam. Different culture facilitated by poor connectivity and scarcity of content. † The title says the 90s but…

Additionally, people flake out now more than ever. Back in the 80s, if you managed to win the game of Phone Tag and arrange for your 5 friends to get together at the mall at 2:00PM on Saturday, you could pretty much rest assured they would all make it. Just getting it scheduled was a massive investment in effort and time.

Now, someone will plan a birthday party or something, the kid will invite 15 other kids from school, and it's not unheard of that only one or even zero people actually come. You also see adults doing this. Totally flaking out and not showing up, with not even a call or text in explanation! Culturally that would have been an outrage back in 1980.

Re: Everyday life improvements since the 90s (2022)

#42

Post by CGMthrowaway »

kvdveer wrote: post #35
kemaru wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Microfiber cloths are, on the other hand, a major source of microplastic pollution. They are basically just ready-to-snap-off microplastic particles. They shed a substantial % each washing cycle. Something like 80 % of all microplastic pollution sampled in ocean water is from microfibers.

Do you have a source on that? I'd like to understand the definition of "micofibre" in this context to see of I need to change my purchasing habits.

IDK about the claim, but here is a good dive into what it is and how it works. https://backreaction.blogspot.com/2013/05/what-is-microfiber...

Re: Everyday life improvements since the 90s (2022)

#43

Post by s1artibartfast »

fullshark wrote: post #23
alabastervlog wrote: post #7

> No More Coupon Scams: most people recognize rebates/coupons are scams, and the rise of discounters/warehouse stores/Internet shopping has largely obviated them This one got much worse: now you have to install an app (fast food) and/or join a data-harvesting "loyalty program" (grocery stores, Target, others) to get what should be the normal menu prices instead of the batshit crazy list prices. This affects most of t…

Yeah I don't get that one either, or how it's a scam, I always just considered it price discrimination.

You are correct. Scam is just a word thrown at anything that isn't optimized to benefit the speaker.

Coupons are intended to compete for the business of price sensitive customers, and always have been.

Re: Everyday life improvements since the 90s (2022)

#44

Post by FuriouslyAdrift »

kvdveer wrote: post #35
kemaru wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Microfiber cloths are, on the other hand, a major source of microplastic pollution. They are basically just ready-to-snap-off microplastic particles. They shed a substantial % each washing cycle. Something like 80 % of all microplastic pollution sampled in ocean water is from microfibers.

Do you have a source on that? I'd like to understand the definition of "micofibre" in this context to see of I need to change my purchasing habits.

Microfibre materials (fabrics, etc) are by definition microplastics. They shed like crazy, too.

Re: Everyday life improvements since the 90s (2022)

#45

Post by ssl-3 »

kleiba wrote: post #12
MarkusWandel wrote: post #3

Fact: In the 1990s a reasonable capable computer was a significant expense on the order of $1K, and likely to be obsolete within 5 years. My best present laptop is 5 years old and perfectly capable and was free because its previous owner didn't want it any more because of a minor defect. That's an exception, but the fact is, being somewhat tolerant to less than state-of-the-art computers, I haven't bought a new one,…

Fact: In the 1990s a reasonable capable computer was a significant expense on the order of $1K, and likely to be obsolete within 5 years. Most people's main "computer" these days is a smart phone with a similar price tag and a much shorter shelf live.

Sure.

But the dollars were ~twice as big ~30 years ago. A $1k pocket supercomputer today costs roughly half of what a $1k desktop PC did in 1995.

Re: Everyday life improvements since the 90s (2022)

#46

Post by zeroonetwothree »

kleiba wrote: post #12
MarkusWandel wrote: post #3

Fact: In the 1990s a reasonable capable computer was a significant expense on the order of $1K, and likely to be obsolete within 5 years. My best present laptop is 5 years old and perfectly capable and was free because its previous owner didn't want it any more because of a minor defect. That's an exception, but the fact is, being somewhat tolerant to less than state-of-the-art computers, I haven't bought a new one,…

Fact: In the 1990s a reasonable capable computer was a significant expense on the order of $1K, and likely to be obsolete within 5 years. Most people's main "computer" these days is a smart phone with a similar price tag and a much shorter shelf live.

My phone is more than five years old and still works fine. Also it cost like $600 not $1k and adjusting for inflation it’s even cheaper

Re: Everyday life improvements since the 90s (2022)

#47

Post by pizzathyme »

kleiba wrote: post #10

I find this list one-sided, an honest account would also discuss the many downsides that have come with some of these changes.

The point is that most sentiment is one-sided to the negative. The rest of the internet is full of pervasive accounts of how the world has gotten worse.

Re: Everyday life improvements since the 90s (2022)

#48

Post by MattGrommes »

patapong wrote: post #19

International communication! I lived across the atlantic for many years, and was able to call with people important to me every day, for free, even with video. Further, I can have a cultural exchange and shared cultural reference points with billions of people across the planet.

In the book of 2001, one of the big "events" of that far-future world was all the phone companies making long-distance free on 1/1/2000. Even when I read the book in probably 1990, I remember my dad thinking that was ridiculous. Now the idea of even international long distance call charges are going away and most calling is as you say, done for free via the internet, including with video!

Re: Everyday life improvements since the 90s (2022)

#49

Post by FuriouslyAdrift »

MarkusWandel wrote: post #3

Fact: In the 1990s a reasonable capable computer was a significant expense on the order of $1K, and likely to be obsolete within 5 years. My best present laptop is 5 years old and perfectly capable and was free because its previous owner didn't want it any more because of a minor defect. That's an exception, but the fact is, being somewhat tolerant to less than state-of-the-art computers, I haven't bought a new one,…

Moores law was in full effect in those times (as opposed to the last 10 years) and computers were rapidly advancing.

Re: Everyday life improvements since the 90s (2022)

#50

Post by rahimnathwani »

dcminter wrote: post #24

With the exception of cellphones, almost everything that needed a battery in the 90s used disposable dry cell batteries. Left unattended they often leaked destroying the device. Now almost everything that needs a battery has a rechargeable one built in. There are a few downsides to that but it's a hell of a lot more convenient! As a kid in the 70s/80s any battery powered toy spent most of it's life unpowered and usel…

In the 80s, soon after I was gifted a Sanyo portable cassette player, I bought a battery charger (10 GBP) and set of 4 nickel cadmium AA batteries.
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